Rafting the Lower Salmon: A Photo Journal

So this is essentially how the text thread went...

Patrick: Want to float the Salmon River next week?

Sarah: F#@k yeah!

And so it was that exactly one week later, I woke in the wee hours of the morn and drove 4 hours to meet Patrick at his home on the east side of the mountains. We piled our gear into his truck and drove with the raft in tow for another 6.5 hours to The Potato State. The next morning we began our 5-day, 72-mile float along the Lower Salmon River. 

I hereby present to you a Photo Journal of our rafting trip down the Lower Salmon River. Enjoy!

The Lower Salmon River.
[Image: oregonriver.com.]

I have lived a good life with lots of adventure. And while I've done a multi-day trip on my packraft with a bicycle aboard, never have I done a multi-day float trip on a raft-raft. Suffice it to say that I was a wee bit excited for our grand floating adventure.

Bikerafting the Skagit River: A Photo Journal

For three days in early July, Alan and I bikerafted the Skagit River from Copper Creek to Pressentin Creek. At the end of our float, we cycled back to our starting point. In total, the trip was 31 road miles and way more river miles.

We rafted the Skagit River between Copper and Pressentin Creeks,
and then biked back along Highway 20 to return to whence we started.

Twas a nice, easy float close to home. Along the way we enjoyed the scenery and each other's company. Here is a photo journal of our trip:

A Photo Journal: Flying High to Lopez Island

I like meeting new people — especially when those people broaden my horizons.

Meet my new friend, Larry. Larry literally flew me to new horizons.

Meet Larry.

Larry has an array of interests. One of those interests is piloting his Cessna 150. Larry likes to fly to places and then explore those places via land.

Suppose you were Larry. Suppose you wanted to fly your plane somewhere — let's say the San Juan Islands — to explore the isles. What might be a good way to explore once you've touched down?

Yes, you got it — a bicycle!

A Photo Journal: The Inaugural Pacific Northwest & Gulf Islands Tour

As you may recall, Don and I spent A Month Pedaling the Long Way from Montana to Washington. From Bellingham, our final destination, we would both be leading Adventure Cycling's inaugural Pacific Northwest & Gulf Islands tour.

The Pacific Northwest & Gulf Islands tour is a challenging 13-day, 595-mile route that traverses some of the most beautiful riding in the Pacific Northwest. The route includes many of my favorite places, both above and below the 49th parallel. I had waited for more than a year and a half to lead this trip. Suffice it to say that I was quite excited to get the show on the road!

This was our group of cyclists.
Front row (l to r): Greg, Barry, Cathy, me (Sarah), and Kitty.
Back row (l to r): Trina, Chris, Paul, Ron, Victor, Brielle, Don, Peter, John, and Ted.
Not pictured: Van. 

Bless the dear souls of these cyclists; these folks had no idea what they were in for when they signed up for this trip. With endless climbs, miles of hike-a-bike, and early morning ferries galore, this route is not for the faint-of-heart. Luck would have it, as there couldn't possibly have been a better combination of riders for the inaugural ride. Each and every cyclist was strong, adventurous, and impressively good-spirited.

A Photo Journal: A Month Pedaling the Long Way

When you have a whole month to get from Point A to Point B, it clearly makes sense to go the long way, especially when doubling your mileage means quadrupling the gorgeous vistas.

Me and Don, doubling our mileage to quadruple our views.

My buddy, Donald, and I staffed an Adventure Cycling trip together in Whitefish in early July. A month later, we were leading another trip together out of Bellingham. As we both share an interest in hitting the open road (albeit dirt road) on two wheels, and as we both had a month of free time between trips, we decided to cycle together from the ending point of our first trip to the starting point of our next trip -- the long way. 

This is a photo journal of the month we spent pedaling from Whitefish, Montana to Bellingham, Washington...via Jasper, Alberta.

A Photo Journal: Falling in Love with Alaska - Part II

The Denali Highway

Kali Ma, The Great Protector, joined me again on this summer's ride.
She sat perched atop my handlebars and reminded me to regularly
give out a great, big, hearty lion's breath.

A Photo Journal: Falling in Love With Alaska - Part I

It has taken me my whole life to get to Alaska. It has taken me my whole life to truly fall in love.

I felt very much in my element in Alaska,
which made me incredibly happy through-and-through.

Just a few minutes before my plane landed in Alaska, I looked outside my window and saw this: 

Triple hubba deliciousness!

It was at this moment that I fell in love.

A Photo Journal: My Time in Guatemala

Here are some of my favorite photos from my time in Guatemala:

The market offerings were colorful, made more so by the dilapidated.

A Photo Journal: Around Dharamsala

Below are my favorite photos from my time in and around Dharamsala.

McLeod Ganj, a suburb of Dharamsala, is in the Himachal Pradesh state of India.
At 6800 ft, the hill city is surrounded by a dense coniferous forest of Deodar cedars.

A Photo Journal: In & Around Dadh

While in India, I spent a month taking an intensive yoga teacher training course (see An Unexpected Takeaway from My Yoga Course).

Tara, yoga master, surrounded by his class of new yoga instructors.
This is a powerful photo for me,
as it represents an abundance of emotions.
(Photo: Siddhi Yoga)

The course was held in Dadh, about an hour's drive outside of Dharamsala. On the few days when we didn't have classes, I explored the countryside by foot. Below are my favorite photos from in and around Dadh.

A Photo Journal: The Dalai Lama's Temple & The Tibetans

I'm far behind on blog posts. I'm about to leave the country for three months, and I have not yet shared my favorite photos from my last overseas trip. It is time for some serious catching up! This is the first of three photo journal posts from my trip to India.

Last spring I traveled to McLeod Ganj. Situated in northern India, at the base of the Himalayan Mountains, the town is the home of the exiled Tibetan people. In McLeod Ganj, I had a Meeting with the Dalai Lama  and Volunteered with the Tibetan Refugees. Below are my favorite photos from McLeod.

The Dalai Lama's Temple

The Dalai Lama's Temple is just one facet of the much larger complex known as "Tsuglagkhang." In addition to the main temple, the complex also includes the Dalai Lama's residence, the Namgyal Gompa, the Tibetan Museum, and the heart-breaking wall displaying the photographs of those who have self-immolated over the years in protest of Tibet's freedom. Tsuglagkhang is a pilgrimage destination for Tibetans and followers of the Dalai Lama.

Around the circumference of Tsuglagkhang is a walk known as the "Kora Circuit."
I had the great pleasure of walking the Kora a number of times.
The Kora Circuit is lined with messages etched into and painted onto stones...

Visiting Catalonian Cities & Dalí: A Photo Journal

During the week I spent Cycling Through Catalonia, I explored beautiful Catalonian cities and toured Salvador Dalí's museum and home. This is a photo journal of my visits. 

Girona

I had just a few hours to explore Girona before darkness set in.
In those few hours, I ran all over the city -- up and down staircases and along narrow streets --
capturing the gorgeous city on the permanent retina of my camera.
If I had the opportunity for a re-do, I'd spend a whole day (or even two!) in Girona.

Barcelona: A Photo Journal

I returned from Barcelona more than a month ago. Though I had the best intentions of promptly writing a few blog posts to share my experiences, other projects and life activities got the best of me. In order to share my trip without getting too bogged down in the past, I'm presenting the highlights of my visit to the city as a photo journal.

As soon as I arrived in the Gràcia district,
where I would spend my first few days, I went for a walk to stretch my airplane-weary legs.
Just a few blocks from my AirBnB, I saw these two familiar faces.
I guess when you're a big player in the world of technology,
your face and name are recognized all across the planet.

Biking Vancouver Island: A Photo Journal

Vancouver Island, which lies in the southwest corner of British Columbia, is a paradise of old-growth forests, mountains, oceans, lakes, and rivers. It is a marvelous place for Bathing in the Forest, something I've come to appreciate more-and-more with time.

I first fell in love with Vancouver Island when I backpacked the rugged West Coast Trail in 2010.

My brother (BJ) and me, standing in front of Tsusiat Falls on the West Coast Trail in 2010.

I fell even more in love with Vancouver Island when I spent three weeks Exploring Vancouver Island by car in 2014.

Striking a pose at San Josef Bay in 2014.

And so when I had a few days free after housesitting on Salt Spring Island for a little bike trip, Vancouver Island tugged at my heartstrings.

Backpacking the Beartooths: A Photo Journal

For four days and three nights, my friend (Greg) and I backpacked through the Beartooth Mountains. What's not to love about backpacking in a place where the sunsets look like this?

The sun sets in the Beartooth Mountains.

Located just to the northeast of Yellowstone National Park, the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness straddles the border of south central Montana and northwest Wyoming. The Beartooth Plateau is the largest high elevation plateau in the United States. Exceeding 10,000 feet in elevation, the plateau has more than 300 lakes and more than 25 peaks greater than 12,000 feet in elevation. Can you say "hubba hubba"?

Cycling the Great Parks North & Great Divide Loop

Sandwiched between staffing two Montana-based Adventure Cycling trips, I spent ten days cycling a loop through British Columbia and Alberta. I departed from Eureka, MT (just south of the Canadian border) and travelled north to Banff, AB along the paved Great Parks North route. I then looped back to Eureka via the unpaved Great Divide route. All in all, the trip was just over 500 miles in length.

My loop.
(Red = the Great Parks North route and
Blue = the Great Divide route)

I really enjoyed the route. It provided a great mix of pavement and off-road riding as well as a great mix of nature and rural and urban settings. I had plenty of opportunities to bathe in the forest and to relish in the beauty of snow-capped peaks, pristine lakes, and colorful wildflowers. Below is a photo journal of my trip. For those interested in the details on my ride, my trip takeaways, route beta, and itinerary are provided at the bottom of this post.

Housesitting in Bellingham: A Photo Journal

I spend a majority of my time alternating between traveling and housesitting. While I greatly enjoy my travels, I look forward to my housesits as an opportunity to hunker down in one place, recharge my batteries, catch up on life logistics, and prepare for my next bout of travels.

I spent the months of April and May housesitting in Bellingham, about 90 miles north of Seattle. I watched over a large property in the country and took care of five kitties who lived on the property. I relished in the solitude, nature, and peace that country living proffers.

I settled into a nice daily routine -- yoga first thing in the morning, followed by a run, a bike ride, or a walk, an afternoon of being either entirely productive or productively leisurely, and a three-mile round-trip walk after dinner merely so I could smell the lilacs (and later the roses) at the end of a nearby road. I also spent a lot of time Bathing in the Forest, noticing the tiny details in nature (the tadpoles growing fatter and fatter each day) as well as the more macro ones (the snow melting on the nearby peaks as green filled in the trees). There were days that passed when I didn't talk to anyone except for myself and the kitties.

Exploring the Country

It was a 20-mile roundtrip bike ride to and from the grocery store.
I didn't mind the ride, especially since I got to see this
dreamy view of Mt Baker every time I approached the property.

Biking the Baja Divide: A Photo Journal

At the end of January, I traveled to Mexico to bike the new Baja Divide route. This a photo journal of my trip.

Part I: Biking from Tecate to San Quintin with Ronaldo

I rode the first ~270 miles from Tecate to San Quintin with Ronaldo. We covered this section in just over a week. 

Due to recent heavy rains, the desert in the north was unusually lush.
(Photo: Ron Norton)

Riding the Rectangle: A Photo Journal

Of all the trips I led this summer, my favorite was the informal overnighter that I organized with friends along The Rectangle.

You may recall me mentioning The Rectangle Ride before. In my Bloated Fish & Butt Raisins post from 2013, I wrote about the perfect autumnal ride around The Rectangle. In my Backpacking in Hell's Canyon post from 2015, I mentioned my mid-winter ride around The Rectangle, in which I first saw the aftermath of the Oso landslide. Needless to say, The Rectangle Ride is my favorite close-to-home overnight bike trip.

In mid-September of this year, I rode The Rectangle for the sixth time. I thoroughly enjoyed sharing the ride with six friends. This is a photo journal of our trip.

The Gang (from l to r):
Brad, me, Yonina, David, Faisal, Eric, and El Mecánico.

Riding the Tetons-Yellowstone Route: A Photo Journal

As mentioned in my previous post, Getting to the Start of the Reconnaissance Ride, I did a solo, self-contained "reconnaissance ride" around the Tetons-Yellowstone loop. Immediately following my Reconnaissance Ride, I co-lead two separate week-long tours around the same route for Adventure Cycling. All in all, the trip included about 800 miles of pedaling. This is a photo journal of my trips.

I picked up Adventure Cycling's Tetons-Yellowstone loop in the town of West Yellowstone, at the far north end of the route. A few miles outside of West Yellowstone, I crossed the Continental Divide and entered Idaho.